—Helicos Biosciences got its start in 2003 and went public in 2007. The firm has had a rocky past few years. It was delisted from the NASDAQ last November because it was unable to meet listing requirements, “due to the state of its finances and near-term business prospects.” The Cambridge-based developer of gene sequencing instruments has also filed lawsuits against Menlo Park, CA-based Pacific Biosciences, San Diego-based Illumina, and Carlsbad, CA-based Life Technologies for patent infringement.